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Dunston - Derwent Tower
Derwent Tower, known locally as "The Rocket", was built in 1969 by Pittender A.I.G.H. on the site of Clavering Avenue and East Ravensworth Road. * It is 280 feet high and is the tallest building on Tyneside. It has 420 steps and two lifts.
The architect was Owen Luder, who also designed the notorious multi-story car park in Gateshead. The design is unique in Britain. Only one other of this design was built in Europe.
There are 29 floors with a total of 196 flats and it is built in the shape of a cogwheel with five risers. Each riser has its own water supply contained in one of the five tanks situated in the glazed area between the tenth and eleventh floor. Most blocks have these on the roof.
The base of the building was originally a 150 space car park. This is now used as storage for Gateshead Authority. Owing to the history of flooding from the The River Team (or Gut as it has always been known locally) the building is based on a sunken ring of concrete. This forms a further basement, which was designed to hold large pumps which are used when required.
The Tower has six flats on each floor, two-bedroomed flats to the tenth floor and one -bedroomed flats from the eleventh to twenty-ninth floors. It has spectacular views from the top floors.
The adjacent Maisonettes were once linked to "The Rocket". This walk way was removed when the flat roof was changed to the present design.
*Many of the residents of these streets were rehoused on the then new Meadow Lane Estate.
